Rules of Lacrosse

Boys and girls lacrosse, are both played on a field similar in size to a soccer pitch with “cages” or goals at either end. Although similar in appearance the boys and girls rules and equipment are different.

Girl's Field Schematic

Boy’s lacrosse is a contact game played by ten players: a goalie, three defensemen, three midfielders and three attackmen. The girl’s game is a non-contact and played by 12 players: a goalkeeper, five attackers and six defenders.

Field players may pass, catch or run with the ball in their crosse (stick). A player may gain possession of the ball by dislodging it from an opponent’s crosse with a check.

High school games for boys are 48 minutes long, with 12-minute quarters. Teams change sides between periods. The girl’s high school game is 50 minutes in length with two 25-minute halves. Each team is permitted two timeouts each half. The team winning the coin toss chooses the end of the field it wants to defend first.

Boy's Field Schematic

A “face-off” begins the boy’s game and periods as well as begins play following a goal. In girl’s play, a “draw” begins each game and half and starts play following each goal.

With both genders, the object of the game is to shoot the ball into the opponent’s goal. The team scoring the most goals wins.

About this Site

Thank you for visiting the official news source for high school lacrosse in Washington state. Washington Prep Lacrosse is maintained by the Washington State Chapter of US Lacrosse and is a collaborative effort of the Washington High Boys and Schoolgirls Lacrosse Associations, and high school lacrosse teams throughout the state.